Aloisio da Milano, also known as Aloisio da Carezano, Aleviz Milanets and Aleviz Fryazin (''Алевиз Миланец'', ''Алевиз Фрязин'', ''Алевиз Фрязин Миланец'' in Russian) was an Italian

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

who worked in Muscovy.

Architectural Work in Moscow

Aloisio da Carezano came to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

in 1494, at the invitation of Ivan III, to replace Pietro Antonio Solari as a senior court architect, responsible for fortifications and palaces. * In 1495, he rebuilt the walls and

towers A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures. Towers are specific ...

of the

Moscow Kremlin The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of the kremlins (R ...

, along the

Neglinnaya River The Neglinnaya ( rus, Неглинная, p=nʲɪˈɡlʲinːəjə), also known as Neglinka, Neglinna, Neglimna (Неглинка, Неглинна, Неглимна), is a 7.5 km underground river in the central part of Moscow and a tribut ...

. * In 1499–1508, Aloisio da Milano constructed a few stone chambers, which today constitute the first three floors of the Terem Palace. * In 1508–1516, he also dug a

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

(later dubbed the Alevizov moat in his honor) along the Kremlin wall on the side of the

Red Square Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːətʲ) is one of the oldest and largest squares in Moscow, the capital of Russia. Owing to its historical significance and the adjacent historical build ...

, covered with

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...

and

brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

s. It was filled up in the 19th century. * Aloisio da Milano also constructed a dam on the Neglinnaya River in 1508, and a

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually someth ...

over it in 1516.

Origin of title

The Fryazin title originates from the old Russian word ''фрязь'' (fryaz), derived from ''frank'', that was used to denote people from Northern Italy.

Architectural Work in Moscow

Origin of title

See also